Comics Review: "GEEK-GIRL #12" Breaks Out the Break-In

GEEK-GIRL, VOL. 2 #12

MARKOSIA ENTERPRISES, LTD.

STORY: Sam Johnson

ART: Carlos Granda

COLORS: Chunlin Zhao

LETTERS: Paul McLaren

COVERS: Carlos Granda with Chunlin Zhao; Flinn Douglas with Carlos Granda

24pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (February 2023)

Rated T+ / 12+ only

Geek-Girl created by Sam Johnson

“Identity Crisis” Part 2: “Skin and Bones, Waifs and Strays”

Created by Sam Johnson, Geek-Girl is a comic book character that debuted in the 2016 Geek-Girl miniseries,  She returned in a second miniseries, 2018's Geek-Girl Vol. 2, which subsequently became an ongoing series.  Geek-Girl Vol. 2 is written by Sam Johnson; drawn by Carlos Granda; colored by Chunlin Zhao; and lettered by Paul McLaren.

Geek-Girl focuses on Ruby Kaye of Acorn Ridge, Maine, a sexy and popular college coed who inadvertently becomes a superhero.  Ruby dons a pair of super-tech eye glasses that give her super-powers.  Ruby's BFF, Summer James, then talks her into trying to be a superhero, even providing her with a moniker.  Now, Ruby is Maine's newest superhero, “Geek-Girl.”

Geek-Girl Vol. 2 #12 (“Skin and Bones, Waifs and Strays”) opens at “Snakeskin's Bar.”  Chromex and Dog Woman, friends of the captured costume, Pig Head, have approached Digger Mensch and Terry the Super-Porter.  One of them, Chromex, makes Digger a lucrative offer for the whereabouts of Pig Head – a big payday.  Meanwhile, Pig Head is getting to know Rosebud and Joe Cyborg.

Ruby returns to headquarters, struggling to understand what happened to her, but her conversation with The Minger is interrupted when the League of Larcenists invades the headquarters.  Should Ruby help with the response to this assault or go after the person who has stolen her identity and a lot more.

THE LOWDOWN:  Geek-Girl creator-writer Sam Johnson regularly sends me PDF review copies of the latest issues of Geek-Girl, and has been doing so for several years.  I enjoy reading about Geek-Girl and her (mis)adventures.  I like this comic book enough to believe that encouraging you to give this series a try, dear readers, is one way I can contribute something good to the comic book industry.

Geek-Girl #12 carries over threads from Geek-Girl #11 and the recent release, Fake Geek-Girl #1.  Writer Sam Johnson packs most issues with a lot of characters, which can sometime put a drag on the pace of the narrative, as it does here, but only a little.  Sam is an imaginative writer and his stories, in a deceptively quiet way, are riveting.  He captures the spirit of Silver and Bronze Age superhero team comic books like Marvel Avengers and DC Comics' Justice League.  The difference is that Sam captures the eccentricities of both the superheroes and their civilian identities, where as the earlier comic books focus on the weirdness of the superheroes.

Artist Carlos Granda is quite good at capturing facial expressions and the quirkiness and oddness in the way people act in relationship to emotions and speech.  Granda's graphical storytelling and compositions capture both the unique nature of Sam Johnson's world and the classic comic book sensibilities of Geek-Girl.  All of this really shows under Chunlin Zhao's excellent colors and Paul McLaren's lettering.

Geek-Girl #12 is like the series as a whole, endlessly charming and constantly beguiling.  I always want to read this series, and issue #12 makes me hungry for more.  I don't know if Johnson wants to make Geek-Girl a monthly comic book, but, dear readers, I wish for that.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of lovable superheroes will find an all-around winner in Geek-Girl.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

Geek-Girl #12 can be ordered via Indy Planet at https://www.indyplanet.com/geek-girl-12.

You can get more information about Geek-Girl here or at https://samjohnsoncomics.wixsite.com/geekgirlcomics.

Information about the Kickstarter for Geek-Girl issues #13 and 14 is available here or at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/geekgirlcomics/geek-girl-identity-crisis.

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